President Biden will visit the besieged southern border on Sunday, but it is not clear if he will meet with Border Patrol agents or if he will address or apologize for a false claim he made in 2021 when he accused agents of having “strapped” Haitian migrants.
Biden said on Thursday that he will visit El Paso, Texas, where he will assess border enforcement operations and meet with local elected officials and community leaders. He made the announcement during a White House speech *in which he unveiled a slew of measures, including an expanded parole program and a plan to increase returns to Mexico, to deal with the ongoing border crisis.
However, there could be a cloud hanging over the visit with regard to comments he made in September 2021, when he accused agents of having whipped migrants and promised that “they will pay.”
Biden had spoken out after an incident in which Border Patrol agents on horseback were dealing with a surge of more than 10,000 migrants predominantly from Haiti.
Photographs of migrants encountering agents zipped around social media as some Democrats and media commentators incorrectly interpreted as showing agents using whips or whipping migrants who were trying to cross the river. In fact, the agents were using split reins to control their horses.
But the incident steamrolled and the conduct of the agents saw condemnation from various administration officials, including, ultimately, Biden.
“To see people treated like they did, horses barely running over, people being strapped — it’s outrageous,” Biden told reporters, making a whipping motion with his hand. “I promise you, those people will pay. There will be an investigation underway now, and there will be consequences. There will be consequences.”
The comments outraged Border Patrol agents at the time, given that it was already clear from video and basic knowledge of operations that no whipping was involved — with many fearing that it was placing political pressure on investigators to fault the agents with something.

Foxnews